Combination rotary brush and comb



1 Jan.15,1952 l BELMONTE 2,582,409

COMBINATION ROTARY BRUSH AND COMB original Filed oct. 16, 194e Snvent'or attorney Patented Jan. 15, 1952 coMINATioN ROTARY BRUSH AND 00MB John Belmonte, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor of twenty-five per cent to Raymond Commerford, twenty-five per cent to Ronald Shanahan, andiifty percent to Anthony Janniello, all of Brooklyn, NJY.

substituted for abandoned application Serial No.

703,555, October 16, 1946. May 6, 1950, Serial N0. 160,523

1 Claim. (Cl. 132-28) This application is a substitute application for my application filed October 16, 1946, Serial No. 703,555, now abandoned.

The present invention relates to hair combs and more particularly to combs having self-contained cleaning devices.

Combs as conventionally constructed comprise a back portion from which a series of teeth project. These teeth are close together and have narrow spaces between them at their bases where they join the back portion. As a result, hairs, dandruii scales and other scalp debris collect between the teeth especially at their bases, even after a relatively short period of use. No practicable or effective way of cleaning combs has so far been discovered so far as I am aware and, therefore, it is either necessary to use an unsanitary, unsightly comb or clean it by the cumbersome and time-consuming methods now available, or to discard the comb. The present invention is designed to overcome this unsatisfactory situation.

It is, accordingly, an object of the invention to provide a comb which can be readily and quickly cleaned by a simple, manual operation.

Another object of the invention is to produce a comb which has a cleaning device built thereinto and is removable therefrom.

A further object is to construct a comb with a longitudinal aperture in the back portion along the base of the teeth in .which a cleaning device is disposed.

A still further object is to construct a combination comb and brush which will permit the brushing of the hair simultaneously with the combing of the hair by the user.

Other objects and advantages will be appreciated and understood by these skilled in this art, or will be apparent or pointed out hereinafter.

In the .accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a comb embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view through Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional View taken through the back portion of the comb of Fig. 1 between two adjacent teeth thereof.

Fig. 4 is a side elevational View, partly in section, of a modified form of comb.

yCombs responding to my present invention are constructed so as to have a self-contained cleaning device which can be manually actuated to eiect cleaning of the combs in a simple, ecient manner. This is achieved by forming a longi- This application tudinal aperture in the back portion of the'comb along the base of the teeth and by disposing a cleaning element in such aperture.

Referring to Figs. 1-3 of the drawing, it will be observed that the back portion I0 of the comb there delineated is provided with a longitudinal aperture II substantially coextensive with the area covered by the teeth I2. A cleaning element of suitable construction is disposed in aperture Il, as shown. This cleaning element is preferably composed of short brush bristles I3 and held by the convolutions of the twisted wire base I4. One end of the wire base I4 is provided with an enlargement, such as the knurled head I5, by means of which the cleaning element can be actuated or operated.

The aperture II and brush bristles I3 are cylindrical in form and extend sufficiently in diameter to encompass the spaces IIb between the base of the teeth so that movement of the cleaning element scours these spaces and removes accumulations therefrom. The cleaning element is also given a longitudinal movement in and out of the aperture which. when combined r with the rotatory movement just described, ex-

erts an exceptionally effective cleaning action. The brush bristles I3 extend into the spaces between the teeth of the comb and will serve to give a brushing action of the hair for such part of the hair as may pass through these spaces.

The cleaning element may be equal in length to the aperture as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, or may be equal to about one-half the length of the aperture, as shown in Fig. 4. In this latter case, the cleaning element is insertible into and removable from either end of the aperture, as will be clearly understood. In this case the end openings of the aperture are of a diameter complementary to the diameter of the cleaning element. The relation and nature of the parts of Fig. 1 will be evident from the numerals employed thereon.

The combs may be of any suitable or desired size, shape and material which per se form no part of the invention, and may have a handle portion I6 (Figs. 1 and 2) or not. The teeth may be all one size and uniformly spaced (as shown in Figs. 1 and 2) or may be partly coarse and partly fine (as shown in Fig. 4). In other respects, the combs may differ in details without departing from the spirit or principle hereof. The invention is rather that dened by the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention. what I 3 claim as new. and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

A comb comprising a back portion having a straight longitudinal bore or aperture, a series of spaced teeth projecting from the back portion and having spaces therebetween communicating with said aperture, a straight brush element having a base and short brush bristles connected to the base, said brush element removably extending into the aperture in the back portion, the aperture being open at both ends of the back portion to receive .said brush element by longitudinal movement of the latter, and the openings of the aperture being of a diameter complementary to the diameter of said straight brush element, said bristles of the brush element being suiciently long to extend 'into the upper ends of the spaces between the teeth to eiect a cleaning action upon these portions'l of the spaces and upon the teeth roots, said brush element being also adapted to have rotational 4 movement within the aperture as well as longitudinal movement whereby to obtain the maximum cleaning effect of the brush element upon the comb. y

JOHN BELMONTE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number A* lName Date Re. 17,310 Hutchings May 28, 1929 1,789,526 Hutchings Jan. 20, 1931 1,794,130 Whalen Feb. 24, 1931 2,400,723 Vrana May 21, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 600,474 Great Britain Apr. 9, 1948 

